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Men's Soccer Season Recap

With the addition of several key players and a new assistant coach in the off-season, the 2012 men’s soccer team finished with a six-game win improvement and set eight new offensive records during the season. With their 7-9-1 slate, the Hawks qualified for their first-ever AMCC play-off game. And for their efforts, six members of the program were honored by the AMCC at the conclusion of the season.

The Hilbert men’s soccer program earned the respect of opposing teams this fall. Jeff Panik was voted as the AMCC Coach of the Year; Rookie Mario Williams was selected as the Newcomer of the Year and was named to the 1st Team All-Conference. Freshman Jordan Lynch and sophomore transfer Jonathan Davison were named to the 2nd Team All-Conference. Junior college transfer Michael Gee and well as senior James Knapp were named to the 3rd Team All-Conference.

Hilbert started the season slowly after suffering four straight losses in early September. The Hawks then put together a string of three wins and a 1-1 tie before they dropped a 2-1 game to Medaille College. Matt Saxton scored Hilbert’s only goal (in the 75th minute) and that team score put the Mavericks on notice that Hilbert was for real. After three more wins, the royal and white took a road loss at Penn State Altoona, a big win at D’Youville and two home losses against the top two remaining teams in the league standings, La Roche and Penn State Behrend. With a 5-4 league record Hilbert found themselves positioned in the 5th seed for the AMCC play-offs traveling back to Altoona. Jordan Lynch scored the College’s first ever play-off goal in Hilbert’s 3-1 1st round play-off loss.

Hilbert should continue to shine on the pitch in 2013 as their Top 5 scorers return next fall. Williams led the offense with 9 goals and 25 points. Following closely behind were Davison with 18 points (8 goals) and Lynch with 16 points (7 goals). Ed Minkel, who is expected to return as a super senior next fall, earned 10 points after missing the team’s first six games. Saxton came on strong as the season wore on scoring four goals and assisting on one to earn 9 points.

Besides the new found offensive power in 2012, the Hawks were solid on defense protecting the frame. Knapp, senior Scott Cvetkovski and Gee were tough as nails stalling opposing team’s offense. Giving quality minutes on the back line were sophomore Tyler Coniglio and seniorJon Flowers.

Sharing goal tending duties were senior Paul Liedkie and junior Jeremy Kraska. Liedkie started six games and finished with a 4-2 overall record while making 38 with a 1.57 GAA. Kraska took the net the other 11 games with a 2.15 GAA and 3-7-1 record with 43 saves.

The 2012 team established new Season Records in Points (108), Goals (38), Goals Per Game (2.24), Game Winning Goals (7), Shots Attempted (292), Shots Per Game (17.18), Shots On Goal (133), SOG Per Game (7.82), Goals Against Average (1.92), Most Wins (7, 7-9-1), and Most Shutouts (3).

Davison set a new Season Record with Game Winning Goals (3); Williams with Shots Per Game (3.76), Shots On Goal (30) and SOG Per Game (1.76); Liedkie set a new standard with Most Wins (4) and Most Shutouts (2) in a season.

To say that Panik and Rick Couell are excited to start practicing again is an understatement. The coaches have redirected the soccer culture on the men’s program and will challenge their returning players to continue to raise the bar and expectations for success.

Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,100 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college’s engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college’s first graduate programs and new Accelerated Degree Programs geared to adult learners.